
CIRAS Helps Avoca Surface Take Smooth First Steps into Government Contracting
It was a quest for help with the paperwork that sent Patrick Richards to the Flying J truck stop in Avoca.
In 2016, Richards was in the beginning stages of creating what would become Avoca Surfaces, a countertop business owned by Richards, his son, and another father-son team. Lori Holste, executive director of the Western Iowa Development Association, suggested that Richards meet with Andy Alexander, a government contracting specialist with CIRAS’ Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP). And a long-term partnership was born.